Band-cutter and feeder.



No. 727,840. PATENTE MAY 12, 1903.

" J. N. D; REEVES.

BAND'G UTTER AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 17, 1900.

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No. 727,840 PATENTED-MAY 12, 1903.

JL N. D. REEVES. I

BAND CUTTER AND FEEDER.

APPLICATION nun AUG 11, 1900. 30 MODEL. k a aws-sum 2.

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UNrTED STATEs- PATENT ()FFICE.

Iliatented May 12, 1903.

JAMES N. D. REEVES, OF COLUMBUS,INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO THE NA- TIONAL MACHINE COMPANY, OF COLUMBUS, INDIANA, A CORPORA- TION OF INDIANA.

BAND-CUTTER AND FEEDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent'No. 727,840, dated May 12, 1903. Application filed August 17, 1900- Seria.l No. 27,138. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES N. D. REEVES, a citizen of the United States,residing at Columbus, in the county of Bartholomew and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Band-Gutter and Feeder, of which the follow. ing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in band-cutters and feeders for threshing-machines or separators, especially of that class described and claimed in the application of Samuel Bufkin, Serial No. 654,331. In machines of this class the bundles of grain are delivered to a cutter by which the mass of grain is positively cut and separated, so as to guarantee a certain definite thickness of grain passing from the receiving-table to the feedtable. Practical experience in the operation of machines of this character has demonstrated that in order to prevent choking the cutter must be maintained at substantially a uniform angle to the oncoming grain and the receiving-table in whatever position of adjustment it may be placed and that means must be provided to prevent the upper or severed portions of the mass of grain from bankiug up upon or behind the cutter.

The object of my invention is, first, to provide means for adjusting and holding the cutter, at the same time maintaining its angle to the receiving-table; second, to provide means for straightening and disentanglin g the grain immediately before it passes to the separator-cylinder; third, to provide an improved form of receiving-table and to provide such improvements in detail of construction as may be hereinafter described and claimed. 7 p p 1 The accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. I Figure 1 is a perspective view of the entire machine. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the receiving-table. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section to one side of the center.

In the drawings, 5 5 indicate a pair of receiving-tableframes, one of which is a duplicate of the other. Each table-frame 5 is provided with two pairs of arms 6 6, the said arms being adjustably secured together by suitable bolts 7, passing through slots in said arms, the arrangement being such that the distance between the table-frames may be increased or lessened to adjust the machine to fit any width of separator. Each table 5 is provided with a pair of rollers 8, to the inner one of which is secured a gear 9. Mounted adjacent each gear 9 is a shaft 10, having a gear 11, which meshes with gear 9. Secured to the lower end of shaft 10 is a gear 12, which meshes with a gear 13,-carried by the main drive-shaft 14, provided with a driving-pulley 15.

Mounted over rollers 8 is an endless belt 16, preferably of canvas. In order toincrease the wearing qualities of the belt 16, I mount at each end of each roller 8 a sprocket-wheel 17, and over, each pair of sprockets runs a chain belt 18. Each pair of chains 18 is connected by a series of cross-bars 19, which lie inside of the canvas 16 and to each of which is secured a series of drags'20, which lie outside of the canvas 16. Each drag 20 is provided with apair of parallel prongs 21, which straddle stripper-bars 22, which bars are socured to the frame 5 at their outer ends and extend across the endless belt in the direction of travel. The stripper-bars 22 are bent downward at their outer ends, as at 23, and are secured to the frame 51 The inner free ends 24 of the stripper-bars are also bent downward on a radius greater than the radius of the roller 8, so as to gradually recede from the belt 16, the arrangement being such that the drags as they pass around the adjacent roller 8 are gradually-withdrawn from the at each end to a guide-block 27, which coop-.

crates with a stationary guide-pIate ZS, secured to the frame 5, said guide-plate having vertical ways or guides with which the blocks 27 cooperate. Each block 27 is provided with a Vertical rack-bar 29, which meshes with a segment 30, adjacent thereto. Each pair of segments 30 is secured to a rock-shaft 31, mounted in suitable hearings on frame 5. An operating-lever 32 may be attached to said shaft. The cutter is held rigidly at any point of adjustment by a bolt 27, carried by the guide-block 27 and passing through slot 28' of the guide-plate 28. The cutter 26, together with its cooperating cutter 25, forms an 0btuse angle to the direction of motion of the oncoming grain, and this angle is maintained throughtherangeofadjustment. ActualeX- perience has demonstrated that in order to produce the best results the cutter should stand in the neighborhood of fifty-five degrees from the vertical; but a variance of a few degreeseither way is not material. Extending between guide-blocks 27 and secured thereto is a vertical guard 33, which lies immediately to the rear of the cutter and is of sufficient height to prevent any of the upper or severed layer of grain from passing over the cutters. The cutters are comparatively narrow, and the angle between said cutters and the guard-board is such as to make it impossible for any material amount of grain to back up over and lie upon the cutters.

The reciprocating cutter 25 is provided with a vertical pin 34 nearone end, and upon said pin is pivoted a bearing-block 34, to which is pivoted on a horizontal axis one end of a pitman 35. The opposite end of pitmau 35 is provided with a substantially horizontal portion, which is pivotally mounted in a horizontal bearing 36, to which is secured a vertical bearing 37, mounted upon the vertical wrist-pin of a crank 38, secured to the upper end of each shaft 10. By this arrangement a vertical adjustment of the cutter may be had without interfering with the reciprocation of the knife by means of shaft 10.

Mounted between the receiving-tables 5 is a reciprocating inclined feed-table 39, which leads downward toward the cylinder 40. Table 39 is reciprocated by means of pitmen 41, operated bya crank-shaft 42, provided with a gear 43, meshing with a pinion 44, carried by shaft 14. The rear end of table 39 is supported by a pair of links 45, the upper ends of which are pivoted to brackets 46, adjustably secured to arms 6 of frames 5 by means of bolts 47. As the grain passes from the receiving-tables beneath the cutters in a stream of uniform thickness and drops upon the feed-table 39 it is inclined to become tangled and set awry, and it is desirable to straighten this straw as it passes downward along table 39, so that it may be presented head-on to the cylinder, and for this purpose I provide the following mechanism: Mounted between the guards 33 and resting preferably upon shafts 31 is a platform 48, upon which is mounted a bearing-standard 49, provided with a pair of horizontal bearings 50, in which is mounted a shaft 51. Secured to the middle of shaft 51 is a sprocket-wheel 52, and secured to each end of said shaft is a crank 53. Mounted upon the pin of each crank 53 is a bearing 54, to which is secured a finger or comb 55, the lowerend 56 of which is bent to the rear. Finger extends upward some distance above bearing 54, passed through a slide-block 57, which is pivotally mounted upon a horizontal bar 58, mounted in the upper ends of standard 49, parallel to shaft 51. Sprocket 52 is rotated in the direction indi cated by the arrow by a chain 59, passing over one ,of a pair of sprocket-wheels 60, which are carried by a shaft 61. Passing over the other of sprockets 60 is a chain 62, which also passes over asprocket 63, mounted upon crank-shaft 42 and longitudinally adjustable thereon by means of a clamp 64.

It is desirable that means be provided to take up the slack in chains 59 and 62, and for this purpose I provide a single device by means of which the slack in both chains may be taken up at the same time. This adjusting device consists of a pair of parallel T- shaped arms 65, which are secured to platform 48. The upper end or cross-bar of each arm is arc-shaped, and formed in each arm is a T-shaped slot having a stem 66 and head 67. Each end of shaft 61 is supported in a bearing 68, which is carried by an arm 69, having a straight slot therein. Passing through each arm 69 at its lower end is a bolt 71, which also passes through the slot 66 in arm 65. Passing through slot 70 of arm 69 and the arc-shaped slot 67 of arm 65 isa bolt 72. By means of this construction the shaft 61 may be swung about bolt 71 and may be moved radially and clamped at any point within a space of considerable range, thus making it possible to adjust the position of the shaft 61 so as to obtain by a single movement the proper tension of both chains 59 and 62.

In order to crowd the material down as 'it passes along table 39 toward the cylinder 40, I secure to the arms 6 a deflector-plate 73, which operates to force the grain down into the month between the cylinder and concave.

In order to prevent the bundles of grain from hanging upon the outer end of frame 5, I hinge thereon an end board 74, said board thus making an incline leading down to the curved portions 23 of the stripping-bars.

The operation is as follows: The machine is set upon the usual projecting arms found upon most separators immediately in front of the cylinder and concave, the distance between frames 5 being adjusted by means of arms 6 6 and bolts 7. Shaft 14 is belted to the separator, so as to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow thereon. The grain is placed on the receiving-table in bundles or clover and such material thrown on by the forkful and is caughtby the drags 20 and carried inward toward the center of the machine. In case any of the grain lies close to the outer edge of the table it falls to the lowest point of the pocket formed bythe downturned ends 23 of the stripper-bars and the inclined end board 74, so that as the drags 20 come up becenter of the machine.

. -tively severed, the upper portions being held back until the lower portion has passed beneath the knife. In case of bundled grain the cutters also operate to cut the bands; A uniform thickness of material is thus carried from each table toward the center of the machine and deposited upon the vibrating feed-table 39. As soon as the grain reaches this point it is attacked by the two fingers of combs 55, which operate to straighten the grain, so as to present it head-on to the cylinder. Owing to the rearwardly-curved operating ends of these fingers there is no tendency to pick up the grain, and the said'lower ends are caused to move in the path indicated by dotted lines, Fig. 3, by the combined action of the cranks 51 and slide-blocks 57. The condition or quality of grain materially aifects the speed with which it can be handled by the cylinder, and the quantity may be regulated accurately by adjusting the cutters toward or from the receiving-tables. This adjustment is readily obtained by a partial rotation of segments 30, which operate upon rack-bars 29. It will be readily noticed that this adjusting means is such that the cutters are moved toward or from the receiving-table in a right line and that the angle of inclination of the cutter to the vertical or to the direction of motion of material on the table is maintained throughout the range of adjustment, so that the action of the cutter upon the mass of grain is the same at all times. Practical experience has shown that this is a material element in the economic and practical operation of'machines of this class.

I claim as my invention-- 1. In a band-cutter and feeder, the combination with a receiving-table, ot' a cutter extending transversely across said table and at an acute angle to the plane thereof with its cutting portion projecting away from the discharge end of the table, and means for adj usting the distance between said cutter and said table and maintaining said angle.

2. In a band-cutter and feeder, the combination with a receiving-table, means mount ed thereon for feeding material longitudinally thereof, a on tter extending transversely across said table above said feeding means and at an acute angle to the line of movement thereof with its cutting portion projecting away from the discharge end of the table, and means for adjusting the distance between said cutter and said feeding means and maintaining said angle.

3. In a band-cutter and feeder, thecombination with a receiving-table, of a cutter extending transversely across said table and at an acute angle to the plane of said table with its cutting portion projecting away'from the discharge end of the table, and means for adjusting said cutter in a right line toward and from said table.

4. In a band-cutter and feeder, the combi-' acute angle to the plane of said table with its cutting portion projecting away from the discharge end of the table, a rack-bar carried by said cutter, and a rotatable segment meshing with said rack-bar, whereby said cutter may be adjusted toward and from the feed-table without altering the angle of said cutter.

6. In a band-cutter and feeder, the com'bination with a receiving-table, of a cutter extending transversely across said table at an acute angle to the plane thereof with its cut- JAMES N. D. REEVES.

Witnesses:

C. E. CUsTER, J. A. SIBLEY. 

